On January 7, 2015 two masked gunmen, Saïd Kouachi and Chérif Kouachi, armed with assault rifles, shot and killed 11 people in the Paris offices of the French satirical weekly newspaperCharlie Hebdo. Six others were killed and another 11 were wounded in related shootings. The attacks were reportedly in response to the newspaper’s frequent, offensive depictions of the prophet Muhammad, in satirical cartoons.

While it goes without saying that the terrorist attack was heinous and inexcusable, it shouldn’t have come as that much of a surprise to anyone, especially the editors and staff of Charlie Hebdo who apparently made a habit of tempting fate by antagonizing Islam’s extremely radical fringe elements with depictions of Muhammad that even a casual viewer would find distasteful.

Nevertheless, for those who claim the newspaper staff nor the French authorities could see this coming, I point to an exchange between two hitmen, Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega, in the classic 1994 film Pulp Fiction — with some editorial license taken to drive the point home:

JULESYou remember Charlie Hebdo?Half-satire, half-news, used to call it Hara-Kiri.

JULESWell, a couple of Islamic terrorists fucked their ass upgood. And word around thecampfire, it was on account of the prophet Muhammad.

VINCENTWhat’d they do, denounce him?

JULESNo, no, no, no, no, no, no, nothin’ that bad.

VINCENTWell what then?

JULESThey printed a cartoon.

VINCENTA cartoon? That’s all?

JULESYes

VINCENTWhat did the terrorists do?

JULESSent a couple of guys over to their office. They went in and took out the maintenance man, shot his ass at the reception desk.

They went to the second floor, to a meeting room enclosed in glass. Niggas shot cartoonists, editors, columnists. Since then, the newspaper’s kinda developed a bigger following.

VINCENTThat’s a damn shame. Still I have to say, play withmatches, you get burned.

JULESWhaddya mean?

VINCENTYou don’t be givin’ a fanatical Muslim an insulting cartoon of the prophet Muhammad.

JULESYou don’t think they overreacted?

VINCENTCharlie Hebdo staff probably didn't expect the terrorists to react like they did, but they had to expect a reaction.

JULESIt was a cartoon, a cartoon is nothing, I draw mymother cartoons.

VINCENTIt’s depicting the fanatics' prophet in an insulting way. Is it as bad as a drone strike? — no, but you’re in the same fuckin’ ballpark.

JULESWhoa…whoa…whoa…stop rightthere. Droppin a bomb on a bitch, and drawing a cartoon ain’teven the same fuckin’ thing.

VINCENTNot the same thing, the sameballpark.

JULESIt ain’t no ballpark either. Look maybe your method of satirediffers from mine, but drawing a cartoon of Muhammad naked and dropping a bomb from hundreds of miles away on the holiest of holies, ain’t the same ballpark, ain’t thesame league, ain’t even the samefuckin’ sport. Cartoons don’tmean shit.

JULESMan, you best back off, I’m gettin’pissed. Look, just because I wouldn’t draw an insulting cartoon of Muhammad, don’t makeit right for the terrorists to shoot up a motherfuckin’ office, fuckin’ up theway the newspaper is published. That ain’tright, man. Motherfucker do thatto me, he better paralyze my ass,’cause I’d kill’a motherfucker.

VINCENTI’m not sayin’ they were right, butyou’re sayin’ an insulting cartoon don’t mean nothing, and I’m sayin’ itdoes. I’ve read a million cartoons in a million newspapers and they all meant somethin’. We act likethey don’t, but they do. That’swhat’s so fuckin’ cool about ‘em.

This satirical thing’s goin’ on thatnobody’s talkin’ about, but you know it and Muslims know it, fuckin’terrorists knew it, and Charlie Hebdo editors shoulda known fuckin’ better. That’s their fuckin’ prophet, man. They ain’t gonna have a sense of humorabout that shit.

JULES:That’s an interesting point.

Editor’s Note: Just because you have the right and ability to publish an insulting cartoon of a religious icon whose fanatical followers have no sense of humor, are totally irrational, and are willing to die to right the perceived slight, doesn’t mean you should publish said cartoon. If you traffic in the provocation of maniacs, don’t express shock and chagrin when those same maniacs do something irrational and unspeakable.